Morning recap: Police cars burned in McKeesport; Fire at RV dealership; Heat leads to early school closures

Here is the latest news from this morning, Wednesday, August 28th:

Police vehicles burned down in McKeesport

Police are investigating after several vehicles were burned in a parking lot near the McKeesport police station Wednesday morning.

At least four vehicles, including an SUV bearing city police markings, caught fire in a parking lot reserved for police vehicles, TribLive news partner WTAE reported.

The fire was reported shortly after 3 a.m. No injuries were reported.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal conducted the investigation.

Fire reported at RV dealership in Allegheny Township

A fire was reported at an RV dealership in Allegheny Township early Wednesday morning.

The fire at Camping World on Route 356 was reported around 4:40 a.m., a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said.

Eight mobile homes were damaged, the dispatcher said.

The fire was extinguished and no injuries were reported. A fire commissioner from the state police was in charge of the investigation.

Extreme heat causes schools to close early

Because of the heat, several schools in the Pittsburgh area are closing students early on Wednesday.

Freedom Area, New Kensington-Arnold and Shaler all announced early layoffs.

Freedom announced that middle and high school dismissal will begin at 12:40 p.m., while elementary school dismissal will begin at 1:50 p.m.

New Kensington-Arnold has a two-hour early school ending time. Students will be released from school two hours before the regular school ending time and will arrive at their afternoon bus stops two hours earlier than usual.

Shaler Area said school ending times will be 11:45 a.m. in the high school, 12:15 p.m. in the middle school, 12:30 p.m. in the elementary school and 1 p.m. in the elementary schools. The district said coaches will decide whether to cancel middle school and high school practices and games.

Pittsburgh Public Schools had previously announced that 37 of their facilities without air conditioning would only offer half-day classes.

A full list of closures and delays is available online at TribLive news partner WTAE.

Highs of 92 degrees are expected Wednesday, with the hottest temperatures expected between 2 and 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

Woodland Hills coach resigns

The coach of the Woodland Hills High School girls volleyball team has resigned after parents said their daughters were mistreated during a practice, which the coach called a punishment, TribLive news partner WTAE reported.

Parents reported that the girls had been forced to crawl at bear speed on a track in temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius, suffering bruises, cuts and blisters on their hands.

At a meeting with district officials Tuesday evening, parents were informed that the coach had resigned. The coach's name was not released.

Fires damage homes in two Allegheny County communities

Firefighters responded to house fires in two communities in Allegheny County on Tuesday evening.

A fire that damaged a home on Heights Drive in Pine Township near North Park was centered in the garage. No injuries were reported, according to TribLive news partner WTAE.

In North Braddock, a duplex in the 1000 block of North Avenue was destroyed by a fire reported just before 11:30 p.m., WTAE reported.

Pursuit of a stolen Jeep ends with an accident in the city center

According to state police, the pursuit of a stolen vehicle ended in an accident in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday

According to state police, troopers spotted a Jeep Cherokee on Interstate 376 that had been reported stolen in Wilkinsburg. Troopers pursued the vehicle toward downtown near Second Avenue. The Jeep struck several vehicles and came to a stop after colliding with another vehicle that had people inside.

Three men fled on foot, state police said. During the pursuit, one of them threw away a firearm, which was found and later determined to be stolen. Two of the three were caught.

State police said Jahil Parker (age unavailable) and an unnamed boy will face charges of fleeing from a police officer or attempting to flee from a police officer, as well as several other charges.

The police were looking for the third person.